Friday, July 31st, marked the 29th anniversary of the passing of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Empire of Japan in Lithuania. During World War II, he saved several thousand Jewish lives by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan.

In recent years, YSP has had the privilege of having an exclusive concert from the world-famous Benny Friedman. This year, was no different, and on Thursday night, the Talmidim enjoyed some intense dancing, as Benny sang everyone’s favorite songs and Niggunim.

Reb Gedaliah Mazal witnessed the arrival of the Rebbe’s father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, in Khazakhstan. He had been exiled there by the Soviets for the crime of spreading Yiddishkeit, but defiantly continued to speak out against the evil regime.

Rabbi Kussy and Rosie Lipsker with their 3-year-old nephew Zalman at his upshernish.

Rabbi Kussy and Rosie Lipsker of Crown Heights will shortly be moving on Shlichus to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home of the University of Alabama, where they will join the family of Chabad on Campus Shluchim operating in universities all over the world.

A unique encounter between various Ukrainian religious leaders occurred on Tuesday in Kiev. The president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, and Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, Kiev’s Chief Rabbi and Chabad emissary, were among the participants. During the encounter, a personal conversation took place between the two regarding the anti-Semitism in the Ukraine.

Assailants attacked a Palestinian village in the West Bank early Friday and torched two homes, killing a young child and critically wounding at least three people, in what the Israeli prime minister called a “terror attack.” The arsonists scrawled graffiti on the homes they attacked, including “revenge!” and “Yechi Hamelech Hamoshiach!”

A Crown Heights family, on their way upstate for Shabbos, was involved in a very serious crash on NY Route 17 near exit 113 late last night. A total of Six were injured, four of them seriously including two children.